THE THROWING PROCESS, cont.

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Centering, cont.

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Once the clay is centered, the potter pushes down on the center of the turning clay to create a concavity. Usually the potter wants that "opening" to reach down to about 1/2 inch to 1 inch from the wheelhead (depending on whether the potter will trim away part of that clay at the bottom to create a foot for the pot). That 1/2 to 1 inch will be the base of the pot, also called the "foot". Then, with the wheel spinning, the potter pushes from the inside of the pot with the knuckles or fingers of one hand with the other hand doing the same thing usually just opposite those fingers on the outside of the clay. The potter starts near the base of the central opening and simultaneously pushes in with both hands while raising them towards the top of the clay. This squeezes the walls of the clay upwards and begins to form the pot.

 

The shape the potter wants to create will determine how he or she pulls up the walls. Though there are many "correct" methods of throwing, very roughly speaking the potter will pull the walls up inward--i.e. so that the opening is narrower at the top than at the base (for a bottle shape), straight up (for a vase shape), and outward (initially in a flowerpot shape for a bowl shape).

 

Once the basic cylinder or bowl shape has been created, the potter can then modify that shape while the wheel is turning or is still. These modifications can be made, for example, by applying pressure from the inside or the outside with fingers or tools, by cutting or pushing in designs or hitting the sides with a paddle to create flattened planes, or by adding clay selectively to the work. There are infinite possibilities for shaping.